Krittibas (magazine)

Krittibas () is a Bengali literary magazine published from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Founded in 1953 as a poetry magazine, it became known as the mouthpiece of young poets and played a significant role in shaping modern Bengali poetry. The magazine was associated with the avant-garde movement in Bengali literature.

History The magazine was conceived by Dipak Majumdar, who was friends with three students of City College, Kolkata – Samir Roychowdhury, Ashok Maitra and Sunil Gangopadhyay. Majumdar observed that Buddhadeb Bose's poetry magazine Kobita, despite its prominence, did not provide complete freedom to younger poets to experiment with their own voices and styles. In response, Majumdar and Ananda Bagchi planned to launch a new poetry magazine. With the help of friends, they took the initiative to establish the magazine in 1952. Dilip Kumar Gupta, the then-owner of Signet Press, named the publication Krittibas after the legendary medieval Bengali poet Krittibas Ojha, who composed the Bengali translation of the Ramayana.

The first issue was published in July 1953 (the Bengali month of Shraban, 1360 BS). The inaugural issue was edited by Sunil Gangopadhyay, Ananda Bagchi and Dipak Majumdar. Within a short time, Gangopadhyay became the sole editor and remained closely associated with the magazine throughout his life. Regarding the publication, Sunil Gangopadhyay said:

Contributors Poets who later joined the Krittibas group included Shakti Chattopadhyay, Sharatkumar Mukhopadhyay, Sandipan Chattopadhyay, Tarapada Roy, Aravinda Guha, Jyotirindranath Maitra, Utpal Kumar Basu, Batakrishna De, Mohit Chattopadhyay, Belal Chowdhury, Manas Roychowdhury, Balen Ganguli, Phanibhushan Acharya, Shivashambhu Pal, Alokranjan Dasgupta, Shyamal Gangopadhyay and Debiprasad Bandyopadhyay. At that time, established modern poets like Jibanananda Das, Bishnu Dey and Amiya Chakravarty were also active.

Sunil Gangopadhyay described the movement:

Publication history Initially, the magazine was published as a quarterly. Twenty-one years after its first publication, in 1974, it became a monthly magazine. Alongside publishing poetry by young poets, the magazine also published numerous articles exploring various aspects of contemporary art and culture.

The first issue contained only one advertisement – for Jibanananda Das's Banalata Sen, published by Signet Press. Sunil Gangopadhyay published Shankha Ghosh's poem "Dinguli Ratguli" in the magazine. Initially, only poetry or poetry-related articles were published in Krittibas. Later, the magazine included Dipak Majumdar's play Bedanar Kukur o Amal, Kamalkumar Majumdar's Suhasinir Pomtem, Shyamal Gangopadhyay's illustrated stories, and Sandipan Chattopadhyay's Chaibasa Chaibasa, among others. In Sunil Gangopadhyay's absence, the magazine was edited at various times by young poets Sharatkumar Mukhopadhyay, Belal Chowdhury and Samarendra Sengupta.

Hungry Generation controversy Between 1961 and 1965, several poets left Krittibas due to anti-establishment reasons and joined the Hungryalist movement led by Malay Roychoudhury. In 1964, when the Hungryalists were accused of obscenity, the Krittibas group issued an editorial stating that they had no connection with the Hungry movement or its organizations.

Decline and revival Over its sixty-year history, publication of Krittibas was suspended at various times due to lack of funds or time constraints. It would reappear in new forms, showcasing the creative works of both established and young poets. With financial support from Sunil Gangopadhyay's childhood friend Bhaskar Dutta, prominent Kolkata personality Pradip Chandra Bose, and Ashik Kumar Dasgupta, the magazine was revived in 1998. The Krittibas Award was introduced for two promising poets each year, and Sunil Gangopadhyay presented the award until his death.

After Gangopadhyay's death in 2012, his wife Swati Gangopadhyay took over as editor, with poets Srijato and Anshuman Kar as associates. The magazine continued regularly until 2013–14, but after the September 2015 issue, it ceased publication by the original group.

Meanwhile, a new group, promising to uphold Gangopadhyay's ideals and revive the old Krittibas, began publication on 6 November 2015 as a quarterly magazine under the initiative of publisher Bijesh Sah of Pratibhas Publication, with a three-member editorial board. Despite legal proceedings, it was later transformed into a monthly and then a biweekly publication.

Timeline

July 1953 – Launched as a quarterly literary magazine 1974 – Converted to monthly magazine 1978 – Temporarily suspended in March–April 1979 – Published as an annual issue at the book fair 1982 – Publication suspended 1998 – Revival as an annual, later biannual magazine 2003 – Fiftieth anniversary celebration 2013 – Sixtieth anniversary celebration September 2015 – Final publication (original group) 6 November 2015 – New Krittibas launched (legal proceedings ongoing)

Legacy Krittibas became one of the most influential Bengali poetry magazines of the 20th century, giving rise to the "Krittibas generation" of poets, including Sunil Gangopadhyay, Shakti Chattopadhyay and Tarapada Roy. The magazine provided a platform for young poets to experiment with new forms and styles, contributing significantly to the modernization of Bengali poetry.

Krittibas (magazine)

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